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Local and regional determinants of galling-insect richness in Neotropical savanna

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2014

Walter Santos de Araújo ,
Pablo Cuevas-Reyes  and
Frederico Augusto Guimarães Guilherme
Walter Santos de Araújo*
Affiliation:
Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás Campus II, Caixa Postal 131, 74001–970, Goiânia, GO, Brazil
Pablo Cuevas-Reyes
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Ecología de Interacciones Bióticas, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo. Ciudad Universitaria, 58060 Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
Frederico Augusto Guimarães Guilherme
Affiliation:
Unidade Jatobá, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Parque Industrial, 75804–020, Jataí, GO, Brazil
*
1Corresponding author. Email: walterbioaraujo@yahoo.com.br
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Abstract:

In this study, we determined the effects of plant richness, total plant abundance and abundance of plants with high galling diversity (super-hosts) on the local and regional galling richness in 15 areas of Neotropical savanna in different parts of Brazil. We established in each area 10 plots of 10 × 10 m, where we sampled a total of 131 plant species and 112 galling insect species. We considered all areas at the regional level and plots within each area at the local level. We found that at the regional level a combination of plant richness and plant abundance is the best model to explain the gall-inducing richness. We also found that at the local scale the most important factors are plant abundance and super-host abundance, but the plant richness is irrelevant. These findings confirm recent results that plant richness is an important predictor of galling species richness at the regional level, whereas the vegetation composition and structure act at the local level. Furthermore, this study contributes to the knowledge of the ecology of galling by showing how local factors influence the richness of this insect guild.

Keywords

gallsplant richnessplant abundancesavannassuper-hosts
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , May 2014 , pp. 269 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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